Cubic Feet to Cubic Yards Converter
Convert cubic feet to cubic yards (ft³ to yd³) instantly
1 cubic foot = 0.037037 cubic yards, and 27 cubic feet = 1 cubic yard. To convert cubic feet to cubic yards, divide the cubic feet by 27.
Cubic feet to Cubic yards converter
Live- 12 bd ft
- 0.028316847 m³
How to convert cubic feet to cubic yards
A cubic yard is a cube that measures 1 yard, or 3 feet, along every edge. Stack cubic-foot blocks inside it and you get 3 rows × 3 columns × 3 layers, which is 3 × 3 × 3 = 27 cubic feet. Because both units are built on the international foot (exactly 0.3048 m), the factor is exact, and converting cubic feet to cubic yards is simply a division by 27. Concrete, weight and other volume tools are gathered on the construction calculators page.
The classic mistake is to divide by 3, as you would for linear feet to yards, or by 9, as you would for square feet to square yards. Each extra dimension multiplies the factor by 3 again: 3 for length, 9 for area and 27 for volume. Dividing by 9 would overstate the cubic yards threefold and lead to a very expensive over-order. If you are starting from measurements rather than a cubic-foot figure, convert any inches to feet first by dividing by 12, so 4 in becomes 0.333 ft; the feet to inches converter shows the same 12-to-1 relationship in reverse.
Step by step
- Find the volume in cubic feet (length × width × depth, all in feet).
- Divide the cubic feet by 27.
- Round up to the increment your supplier sells, such as a half yard.
See it on a scale
Worked examples
A 2 ft³ bag of mulch, a 12 × 16 ft patio poured 4 in thick (64 ft³) and a 400 ft³ load of fill, each converted to cubic yards.
2 ft³ ÷ 27 = 0.074074074 yd³
= 0.074074074 yd³
64 ft³ ÷ 27 = 2.3703704 yd³
= 2.3703704 yd³
400 ft³ ÷ 27 = 14.814815 yd³
= 14.814815 yd³
How do I convert cubic feet to cubic yards in Excel or Google Sheets?
With cubic feet in cell A2, enter =A2/27 to get cubic yards; the formula works the same way in Google Sheets.
- From dimensions: with length and width in feet in A2 and B2 and the depth in inches in C2, =A2*B2*C2/12/27 gives cubic yards in one step. For a 12 × 16 ft area 4 in deep it returns 2.37.
- Round up to half yards: =CEILING(A2/27,0.5) turns 64 ft³ into 2.5 yd³, the amount you would actually order.
- Back to cubic feet: =A2*27.
- To cubic meters: =A2*0.028316846592 converts cubic feet exactly.
Keep the unrounded result in its own column and round only the order quantity. That way the totals across several beds, paths or slabs stay accurate, and you round once, at the end, instead of adding up several rounded numbers.
How many wheelbarrows are in a cubic yard?
About 4.5 level loads of a 6 ft³ wheelbarrow make one cubic yard, because 27 ÷ 6 = 4.5.
Wheelbarrow trays are sized in cubic feet, commonly from about 4 to 6 ft³ for home and contractor models, so check the capacity listed for yours. Heaped loads carry more, but wet soil or stone is often too heavy to heap safely.
| Wheelbarrow size | Cubic yards per load | Loads per cubic yard |
|---|---|---|
| 3 ft³ | 0.111 yd³ | 9 |
| 4 ft³ | 0.148 yd³ | 6.75 |
| 5 ft³ | 0.185 yd³ | 5.4 |
| 6 ft³ | 0.222 yd³ | 4.5 |
| 8 ft³ | 0.296 yd³ | 3.38 |
Weight often limits you before volume does. A level 6 ft³ load of gravel at a typical 1.55 tons per cubic yard weighs about 689 lb, so fill the barrow only partway with stone. The cubic yards to tons calculator gives the weight for other materials.
Cubic feet to cubic yards conversion chart
Common cubic-foot volumes converted to cubic yards and rounded to three decimal places. Values such as 27, 54, 81 and 135 ft³ convert to whole yards.
| Cubic feet (ft³) | Cubic yards (yd³) |
|---|---|
| 1 ft³ | 0.037 yd³ |
| 2 ft³ | 0.074 yd³ |
| 3 ft³ | 0.111 yd³ |
| 4 ft³ | 0.148 yd³ |
| 5 ft³ | 0.185 yd³ |
| 6 ft³ | 0.222 yd³ |
| 8 ft³ | 0.296 yd³ |
| 10 ft³ | 0.37 yd³ |
| 12 ft³ | 0.444 yd³ |
| 13.5 ft³ | 0.5 yd³ |
| 15 ft³ | 0.556 yd³ |
| 18 ft³ | 0.667 yd³ |
| 20 ft³ | 0.741 yd³ |
| 25 ft³ | 0.926 yd³ |
| 27 ft³ | 1 yd³ |
| 30 ft³ | 1.111 yd³ |
| 32 ft³ | 1.185 yd³ |
| 40 ft³ | 1.481 yd³ |
| 48 ft³ | 1.778 yd³ |
| 50 ft³ | 1.852 yd³ |
| 54 ft³ | 2 yd³ |
| 60 ft³ | 2.222 yd³ |
| 64 ft³ | 2.37 yd³ |
| 75 ft³ | 2.778 yd³ |
| 81 ft³ | 3 yd³ |
| 100 ft³ | 3.704 yd³ |
| 108 ft³ | 4 yd³ |
| 135 ft³ | 5 yd³ |
| 150 ft³ | 5.556 yd³ |
| 162 ft³ | 6 yd³ |
| 200 ft³ | 7.407 yd³ |
| 250 ft³ | 9.259 yd³ |
| 270 ft³ | 10 yd³ |
| 300 ft³ | 11.111 yd³ |
| 400 ft³ | 14.815 yd³ |
| 500 ft³ | 18.519 yd³ |
| 1,000 ft³ | 37.037 yd³ |
Cubic feet vs cubic yards: what is the difference?
Both are US customary volume units built on the international foot, so the link between them is exact. The difference is scale, and where each one turns up on a project.
| Attribute | Cubic feet | Cubic yards |
|---|---|---|
| Symbol | ft³ | yd³ |
| System | Imperial / US | Imperial / US |
| Defined as | 1,728 in³ | 27 ft³ |
| One unit equals | 0.037037037 yd³ | 27 ft³ |
| What it measures | Volume of a cube 1 ft on each side | Volume of a cube 3 ft (1 yd) on each side |
| Standardized by | 1959 International Yard and Pound Agreement; NIST Handbook 44 | The same agreement: 1 yd = 3 ft = 0.9144 m exactly |
| How it is sold | Bagged mulch, soil and concrete mix, usually 0.5–3 ft³ per bag | Bulk mulch, topsoil, gravel and ready-mix, usually by the half or whole yard |
| Area covered 1 in deep | 12 ft² | 324 ft² |
| Common confusion | Mixed up with board feet (144 in³) in lumber pricing | Shortened to “yard”, which is easy to mistake for a linear or square yard |
4 key differences
- A cubic yard is exactly 27 times a cubic foot, while a linear yard is 3 feet and a square yard 9 square feet.
- Spread 1 in deep, a cubic foot covers 12 ft² and a cubic yard covers 324 ft².
- Bagged products rarely exceed 3 ft³, so at least 9 bags are needed to match a single cubic yard of bulk material.
- One cubic foot is about 28.32 liters and one cubic yard about 764.55 liters.
What are cubic feet and cubic yards?
A cubic foot (ft³) is the volume of a cube 1 ft on each side. It equals 1,728 cubic inches (12 × 12 × 12), exactly 0.028316846592 m³, about 28.317 liters or 7.481 US gallons. Bagged soil, mulch, potting mix and concrete are labeled in cubic feet, as are refrigerator capacities and room volumes for heating and ventilation.
A cubic yard (yd³) equals 27 ft³ or 46,656 cubic inches, which is exactly 0.764554857984 m³, about 202.0 US gallons. It is the standard unit for bulk landscape material, gravel and ready-mix concrete in the US. When a supplier quotes a price per "yard" of mulch or topsoil, they mean a cubic yard, not a linear yard. For metric volume units, see the volume converters; the liters to gallons converter helps with liquid capacity.
Bags per cubic yard by bag size
Bagged mulch, soil and gravel are sold by the cubic foot. Divide 27 by the bag size to see how many bags equal one cubic yard of bulk material, which makes it easy to compare bag and bulk prices.
| Bag size | Bags per cubic yard | Cubic yards per bag | Cubic yards in 10 bags |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.5 ft³ | 54 | 0.0185 yd³ | 0.185 yd³ |
| 0.75 ft³ | 36 | 0.0278 yd³ | 0.278 yd³ |
| 1 ft³ | 27 | 0.0370 yd³ | 0.370 yd³ |
| 1.5 ft³ | 18 | 0.0556 yd³ | 0.556 yd³ |
| 2 ft³ | 13.5 | 0.0741 yd³ | 0.741 yd³ |
| 2.5 ft³ | 10.8 | 0.0926 yd³ | 0.926 yd³ |
| 3 ft³ | 9 | 0.1111 yd³ | 1.111 yd³ |
Cubic yards for common landscape projects
Volume from length × width × depth, with depth in inches divided by 12 to get cubic feet, then divided by 27. Figures are exact volumes with no allowance for settling or waste. For the weight of the same volume, use the cubic yards to tons calculator.
| Project | Depth | Cubic feet | Cubic yards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flower bed, 10 × 4 ft | 3 in | 10.00 ft³ | 0.37 yd³ |
| Garden bed, 10 × 10 ft | 2 in | 16.67 ft³ | 0.62 yd³ |
| Garden bed, 10 × 10 ft | 3 in | 25.00 ft³ | 0.93 yd³ |
| Raised bed, 8 × 4 ft | 12 in | 32.00 ft³ | 1.19 yd³ |
| Raised bed, 8 × 4 ft | 18 in | 48.00 ft³ | 1.78 yd³ |
| Patio base, 12 × 12 ft | 4 in | 48.00 ft³ | 1.78 yd³ |
| Walkway, 30 × 3 ft | 4 in | 30.00 ft³ | 1.11 yd³ |
| Driveway, 40 × 10 ft | 4 in | 133.33 ft³ | 4.94 yd³ |
| Lawn topdressing, 50 × 20 ft | 1 in | 83.33 ft³ | 3.09 yd³ |
How do you divide by 27 in your head?
Divide by 3 three times, or multiply by 0.037; either route turns cubic feet into cubic yards without a calculator.
- Divide by 3 three times. Since 27 = 3 × 3 × 3, you can divide by 3 repeatedly: 81 ft³ ÷ 3 = 27, ÷ 3 = 9, ÷ 3 = 3 yd³.
- Use the landmarks. 27 ft³ = 1 yd³, 54 ft³ = 2 yd³, 135 ft³ = 5 yd³ and 270 ft³ = 10 yd³. Find the nearest landmark and adjust.
- Multiply by 0.037. One cubic foot is 0.037037 yd³, so multiplying by 0.037 comes out only about 0.1% low, which is fine for quick estimates.
- Skip the cubic feet. For a flat area, cubic yards = square feet × depth in inches ÷ 324. One cubic yard covers 324 ft² at 1 in, 108 ft² at 3 in and 81 ft² at 4 in.
How much extra should you order by the yard?
Add about 10% to the calculated volume for mulch and topsoil, and more for base stone that will be compacted, then round up to the next half or whole yard your supplier sells. A calculated volume is the amount that fits the space, not always the amount to buy: loose mulch and topsoil settle after spreading, and gravel compacts when it is tamped.
For concrete, the concrete calculator takes slab or column dimensions directly and also gives the number of 80 lb or 60 lb bags. When plans are metric, remember that 1 m³ is about 1.308 yd³, so a cubic meter order is roughly 31% larger than the same number of cubic yards.
Sources and further reading
The standards and references behind the numbers on this page. Links open in a new tab.
Standards and official sources
Further reading
- Cubic footWikipedia
- Cubic yardWikipedia
Cubic feet to cubic yards FAQs
Short, exact answers to what people ask most.
How many cubic feet are in a cubic yard?
There are exactly 27 cubic feet in a cubic yard, because a cubic yard is 3 ft long, 3 ft wide and 3 ft high, and 3 × 3 × 3 = 27.
How do I convert cubic feet to cubic yards?
Divide the number of cubic feet by 27. For example, 135 ft³ ÷ 27 = 5 yd³.
How many cubic yards is 100 cubic feet?
100 cubic feet is 3.7037 cubic yards, or about 3.7 yd³.
How many 2 cubic foot bags of mulch make a yard?
It takes 27 ÷ 2 = 13.5 bags of 2 ft³ mulch to equal one cubic yard, so buy 14 bags. With 3 ft³ bags you need 9.
How many cubic yards of soil fill a 4 x 8 raised bed?
A 4 × 8 ft bed 12 in deep holds 32 ft³, which is 1.19 cubic yards. At 18 in deep it holds 48 ft³, or 1.78 yd³.
Why not divide cubic feet by 3 or 9?
Dividing by 3 converts linear feet to yards and dividing by 9 converts square feet to square yards. Volume has three dimensions, so the factor is 3 × 3 × 3 = 27.
How many cubic yards is 50 cubic feet?
50 cubic feet is 1.8519 cubic yards, just under 2 yd³.
How many cubic yards are in 1,000 cubic feet?
1,000 ft³ equals 37.037 yd³. Divide by 27, or multiply by 0.037037.
Related conversions
Exact definitions from the 1959 International Yard and Pound Agreement (1 yd = 3 ft = 0.9144 m) and NIST Handbook 44; the gravel weight in the wheelbarrow example uses a typical bulk density, which varies by supplier and moisture. Last updated . How we verify our numbers.